We need a bit of background here: two years ago we were on thr Queen Mary 2 history of the theatre tour with Road Scholar, and our instructor, Giles Ramsay, recommended that everyone should go to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, the largest and quirkiest arts festival ever. He used to lead tours there with Road Scholar but they were discontinued after Covid. Seversl of us expressed an interest in attending and I took it upon myself to try to get the tour reinstated with Road Scholar. Others joined me in our quest and we petitioned the powers that be at Road Scholar. It didn’t work, alas.
However, months later I discovered a company, Odyssey Traveller, from Australia, who did the tour, billed as a “slow paced gentle small group tour for seniors and solo travelers. It sounded ideal for our situation. Beatrice and I signed up, as did Judy and Cindy from the Road Scholar group, and my friend Ann from Truro, whom you have seen on our Tuscany and Morocco adventures. We basically formed our own group. There are three people we don’t know. Our small group is eight.
Edinburgh as a city is a challenge for oldsters and those with artificial limbs (two hips and a knee) but I am up for the challenge.
My sister arrived from Honolulu on the 10th and on the 12th we boarded my favorite airplane out of SFO, the Airbus 380. We were seated in the upper deck in premium economy. Thos plane floats rather than flies. It is quiet. When it lands it doesnt feel as if you have to help them put the brakes on.
After we landed, at busy London Heathrow airport, we still had to go through customs and immigration before getting on our flight to Edinburgh. When I was planning the trip I decided that we must both use wheelchair accessible assistance. Even for the young and able bodied, Heathrow is a challenge and the airport was more crowded than I had ever seen it. We were put on a cart with three others, whisked away up and down and up and around terminal 5, finally arriving at our loading zone, where two nice fellows took us through the fast checked customs and immigration section. There was no line. We zipped through in under five minutes. Security was tight and more challenging but we made jt through, witha half hour to go! We had a 2 1/2 hour window and we made it through. We jumped the queue when we boarded and our assistants literally handed us over to the flight attendant at the entrance to the plane! How’s that for service?! There is no extra cost for doing this and I recommend it.
Our flight to Edinburgh was uneventful. We didn’t use the assistance here and there were stairs, getting off the airplane and throughout our journey. Fortunately a young lady carried my carry on bag for me through four flights of stairs. The airport was busy but we found our way to baggage claim, got our luggage and found the taxi area. Weeven got two chairs so we could wait in comfort.
i am sure that you are aware that European travel is made even more challenging this year because of a heat wave. London was in the 90s. Edinburgh is cooler but still in the high 70s to low 80s. It was 77 and humid when we landed.
We are here three days before our Odyssey tour. We figured we would need the time to decompress and get an overview of the city. We have no elaborate plans. Our aim is to get acclimated to the time change ( 12 hours for my sister who lives in Honolulu) and get a feel of the vibe of the city.
it was recommended that we stay at the Grassmarket Hotel. It is in a two block square, surrounded by restaurants and pubs, with street entertainment along the way. We are in a twin bedded room on the 4th floor. No stairs. View of the buskers and goings on are visible from our window. The pub whic
It has been two years since I posted and it’s challenging because I can’t correct my errors or even add to a paragraph, which is why the last paragraph ended abruptly. . I hope it will get more user friendly for us! I wanted to post pictures of our little corner of the world with a view from our room and let you seethe action wesaw last night, which I will do. We had lots of airplane food yesterday but wanted a light dinner. Jacket potatoes at Roni’s Bistro fit the bill!
It is Friday morning and our plans for the day will include sitting on the on off bus and getting an overview of the city. I did use my cane for safety because the cobblestones are old and there are lots of people in town. Everyone is very friendly and accommodating.
This is our hotel. 4th floor, two left windows. Great street views.
View from our window
This is the vintage car parade, one of yesterday’s events
We spent an hour or two sitting out, people watching, enjoying our light dinner
As we walked home, we checked out the billboards for attractions that are going on in this busy city.
The pub next door was lively but we weren’t. Another evening, perhaps?
i will be in touch!
More to come!
Fascinating account. Love your photos. Looking forward to your next installment.
So much fun being on another trip with you!
Looking forward to waking up every morning and reading about your adventures.
Christy(Jane’s “niece”)
Karen – don’t fret over typing……we’er all in the same boat, even dealing with spellcheck. My dear friend “Babs” is always corrected to “Babes” – funny. Pace yourselves ladies !!